Antonio Calce hands over the reins at Greubel Forsey to marketing chief Michel Nydegger

Antonio Calce’s stint as CEO of Greubel Forsey is ending as he hands over control to his right hand man Michel Nydegger.

Greubel Forsey gave the top job to Mr Calce in 2020. He had previously headed Corum from 2007 to 2015 then Girard-Perregaux until 2018.

He has overseen a reinvention of GF as a producer of rare, highly collectible sporty timepieces and brought an end to an ultra-purist approach where horological exceptionalism sometimes trumped commercial reality.

In 2022, Greubel Forsey’s management bought back a final 20% of its shares that had been owned Richemont since 2006.

That signalled the start of a new era for the watchmaker under the ownership of Mr Calce and the company’s co-founders Stephen Forsey and Robert Greubel.

Mr Calce used that freedom to restructure and redirect the business in a way that built on its reputation for invention and innovation, established deeper relationships with collectors and increased production from fewer than 100 watches per year before the pandemic to around 260 in 2023.

In the same year, construction began for a major expansion of its La Chaux-de-Fonds atelier, which will almost treble its footprint from 2,000 to almost 5,500 square feet when completed in 2025. It will create capacity for producing around 350 watches per year.

Although Greubel Forsey under Mr Calce insisted it maintains the exclusivity of its watches, it also set out to reduce their average selling price from around CHF 480,000 to around CHF 280,000 in the coming years.

According to Morgan Stanley and LuxConsult estimates, Greubel Forsey sold 255 watches in 2023 at an average price of CHF 313,725 (excl. tax) at retail, which generated revenue of CHF 50 million.

Mr Calce will remain at Greubel Forsey in the role of vice-president after he formally hands over to Michel Nydegger in the summer.

Mr Nydegger has been at Greubel Forsey since 2016 and head of marketing and communications for the past three years.

In an open letter co-signed by Mr Calce, Mr Greubel and Mr Forsey, the company puts on a united front in welcoming the transition to a new CEO.

“It is with great pleasure that we inform you of a leadership transition at Greubel Forsey. After four years of service as CEO, Antonio Calce will be passing on the torch to his close colleague to assume the CEO position. We express our sincere gratitude to Antonio Calce for his leadership, dedication, and contributions during his tenure, which have enabled us to achieve outstanding results both financially and in organisational maturity,” the letter begins.
 
“As a result, Michel Nydegger will take over the role of CEO. Antonio Calce will assume the role of vice president starting from August 5, 2024, and will ensure a smooth transition with Michel until that date,” it continues.

“Greubel Forsey will remain independent with Robert Greubel, Stephen Forsey, and Antonio Calce continuing as shareholders,” the open letter concludes.